Has America gone Mad?

[jdb1]

Isn't it interesting that critics of the current administration can't find anything more significant to criticize than Michelle Obama's vacation wardrobe? Friends, if I had legs like that, I'd wear shorts everywhere.

[Lzcutter]

I am starting to think that American politicians and their constituents have just gone crazy. It's the simplest explanation that doesn't make me really have to explore the underbelly of where they are coming from.

But, as this long summer of stupidity winds down, it becomes harder to ignore. Guns at health care reform rallies, guns at a rally next door to where the President of the United States is talking and now numerous politicians talking about "hunting Obama down" and other stupid comments.

They aren't saying these stupid things quietly to a small circle of their BFFs. They are using this in public, at political rallies and in every day conversation with constituents and the press.

But when called on the carpet about it, well they're just kidding, joking around. They don't support assassinating him. No harm, no foul.

I will freely admit I have not liked or supported every president in my lifetime. But, not once have I talked (even to my inner circle of BFFs) about how the President of the United States should be assassinated, hunted down like a dog or made euphemistic remarks about wanting them dead.

I am surprised by the lack of outcry about this. You (the universal you, not all of the SSO) may not like Obama but are you that angry and upset at his being president that you support jokes about killing him?

I know the GOP is not happy about being out of power but the longer they continue down this path of advocating (and by not coming out against this type of behavior they are giving tacit approval) the overthrow of the Obama administration by violence the longer they deserve to wander in the wildnerness for years to come.

This type of behavior should be condemned by everyone from liberals to conservatives and everyone in between, because no matter what, the bottom line is the violent overthrow of our government is WRONG in every sense of the word, even if you are only joking about it.

[movieman1957]

I haven't hear anyone advocating the violent overthrow of the administration never mind the GOP. They are doing a fine job of imploding. Sure there are the crazy people. Paramilitary groups to the LaRouche supporter who gave Barney Frank a hard time (few pointed out her political leanings) are certainly the extreme. The regular folk are happy enough to voice their opinion, hope their representatives listen (which is unlikely) and wait for things to work their way through the process. But that is only a hope.

[Lzcutter]

I haven't hear anyone advocating the violent overthrow of the administration never mind the GOP.

Chris,

But they are talking about "hunting Obama down", carrying guns to rallies and other over-heated euphemistic rhetoric about killing him.

I believe that the killing of a President is trying to overthrow the democratically elected government of the United States through violence.

And that's just wrong. If they don't like Obama, then they should work to defeat him in the next election, not make jokes about killing him.

[charliechaplinfan]

I'm a bit taken aback by your comments about the Obama administration. Who is trying to over throw and advocate violence against a democratically elected President. Who is the GOP? And why are they allowed to get away with it? Surely the best thing to do is to work within the legislature and the wheels of democracy.

Please excuse my ignorance but I have an interest in your politics but what gets said on the board is not always reported in our news reports. I find it far more interesting to hear it first hand so to speak.

[ken123]

The GOP stands for Grand Old Party, its something of a nickname for the Republicans. On a somewhay related matter White House tapes of President Nixon has the President talking to aide Bob Haldeman about Senator Edward Kennedy, on the tapes Mr Nixon says " if he gets shot that too damn bad ".The book " The Haldeman Diaries " details Mr Nixon's great fear of Senator Kennedy as a potential rival for the 1972 Presidential election, in early 1969 Nixons tells his top aides that Teddy, (Kennedy)Hubert ( Senator Humphrey D - Minnesota ), and Muskie ( Senator Edmund D - Maine ) should be followed 24/7, all three were potential Nixon rivals in the 1972 race for the White House.

[movieman1957]

I'm a bit taken aback by your comments about the Obama administration. Who is trying to over throw and advocate violence against a democratically elected President. Who is the GOP? And why are they allowed to get away with it? Surely the best thing to do is to work within the legislature and the wheels of democracy.

The GOP is not getting away with anything because, as a political party. they are not calling for any such thing. There are individuals who aren't all that thrilled about Obama being president. (There always are people who aren't thrilled about any one person being president.) They lack the tact to make a point in a more constructive matter. The GOP don't like his policies but they would never condone or advocate such an action.

Clearly, you are right. The best thing is to work things through legislation. However, the Democrats hold a majority in both houses and don't really need the Republicans.

[rohanaka]

But they are talking about "hunting Obama down",

Ms Cutter, with deepest admiration and GREAT respect toward you and my fellow posters here...

I would be very curious to hear who in the GOP leadership has been making such comments. And I would also be curious to know in what sort of context these comments have been made.

Chris has already said it, but I will agree that I am aware of NO such talk by conservative leaders or by any prominent members of the GOP.

Please forgive me if I am misunderstanding your comments, but it appears as if you are saying that there is some sort of plan or an agenda from elected officials or higher profile members of conservative political groups calling for people to do harm physical to Mr. Obama. And I believe that to be a very generalized, and (again... with deep respect) misconstrued, and even unfair statement.

Yes... the world IS full of nuts... and occassionally some of them manage to get on TV. But they are not necessarily representative of conservatives as a group. I likely spend a lot more time listening to conservative speakers and speeches than most of the folks in this conversation and I can tell you that I have never once heard any credible conservative leader speak in any sort of threatening way toward Mr. Obama. (at least not in the way you are asserting here) Plenty of conversation can be heard by people who disagree with his policies or his agenda... but no one that I am aware of in the Conservative leadership is out there suggesting someone should do him physical harm.

There COULD be a few offhand remarks made by some person who spoke carelessly... there could even be an occassional lunatic chosen on purpose by members of the liberal media in an effort to discredit REAL thinking and concerned conservative citizens.

The current administration seems to have NO problem dishing out critcisim toward those they disagree with (both politically and personally). But WOW... do they EVER seem to have a problem TAKING criticism. There is little to NO room for anyone to offer an opposing view or a voice of dissent when Mr. Obama speaks. If you do... you are branded a hatemonger, or an extremist. (either by him, or members of his staff.. or most likely... members of the liberal media who fall all over themselves to support his every word as if it were somehow sacred.) I find that very unsettling.

And PS: regarding the guns at political meetings...

Yes... some unthinking and misguided people have done this... and I agree, it is WRONG. But I do not believe they are representative of MOST people in the GOP (or other conservative groups). And also... it is as much a judgement (at least in my mind) against Mr. Obama's security team as it is on the people bringing the guns. High school football games seem to have a better track record lately of keeping armed specators out... than his own staff appears to have.

And again... I say all that I have said here with the deepest respect. I don't have any desire to debate back and forth with friends. I just wanted to make a few observations and I will move on.

And also... just for the record... I think there is always room for improvement in the way public officials on BOTH sides present their opinions to the people they claim to represent. As long as there has been govenrments... people have always disagreed . But as a nation, we seem to have LOST a lot of mutual respect for one another's opinion in general over the years... and the folks in Washington are NO exception. We are ANYTHING but a kinder and gentler nation...

[Lzcutter]

Ro and Chris,

My apologies, these remarks are not being said by the leading voices of the GOP but by lesser lights but GOP members nonetheless.

Rex Rammell, a hopeful candidate for governor of Idaho on the GOP ticket is the one who said he wanted "to hunt Obama down" and then said he was only joking.

He is not alone. Over the last few weeks, the press has had similar stories of some GOP politicians making euphemistic statements about violence to Obama and then tried to walk it back by saying it was just a joke.

It's not my intention to bash the Republican Party.

I just think that members of BOTH parties and we as a society need to denounce this type of talk and behavior before it gets further out of hand.

But as a nation, we seem to have LOST a lot of mutual respect for one another's opinion in general over the years... and the folks in Washington are NO exception. We are ANYTHING but a kinder and gentler nation...

I totally agree with you and hope that there will come a time when politicians on both sides of the fence remember that working together makes us a better nation rather than being at each others' throats.

I'd hate to think that compromise and working together for the betterment of us all is a thing of the past.

Remaining hopeful.....

[rohanaka]

My apologies, these remarks are not being said by the leading voices of the GOP but by lesser lights but GOP members nonetheless.

Rex Rammell, a hopeful candidate for governor of Idaho on the GOP ticket is the one who said he wanted "to hunt Obama down" and then said he was only joking.

No apology needed ma'am, and thanks for the reference on the remark. I am sorry to see anyone running for public office show such poor judgement, even in jest.

I'd hate to think that compromise and working together for the betterment of us all is a thing of the past.

That is something else we can both agree on, too.

PS: Ms Cutter.... I am editing my post, because out of further curiosity I Googled the candidate you mentioned. And I came across a recent Boise, Idaho newspaper article on the subject. I was glad to have found it because it relates that the mainstream GOP leadership of that state do not appear to share this man's idea of humor. And that has to be a good thing. Here is a link for anyone who is interested: http://www.idahostatesman.com/102/story/880934.html Thank you for letting me share this.

[mrsl]

I cannot believe that all the times Bush stood up there and made a fool not only of himself, but of our country as well, nobody ever had the temerity to yell out from the audience. What has happened that Senator Wilson feels he can call Obama a liar from his seat on national TV? To me it's just another example of the fact that the Republicans have no sense of respect for Obama at all, no matter what his title may be.

I'm kind of anxious to talk to my brother (a firm, staunch Republican), who is 6 years younger than I because just the other day we argued about the health care issue. I couldn't believe this well educated, I thought, intelligent, guy said "what will you do when some complete stranger decides if you should live or die?" He was talking about the so-called death panels, and he just left me open-mouthed. Then a few minutes later he admitted because of a minor heart attack he had three years ago, he can't get insurance now because of the pre-existing condition. He was one of those 6 months from 30 year anniversary guys who was laid off because of 'financial crushes'.

After Obama's speech tonight, I feel a lot better.

[movieman1957]

Well maybe one Republican lost his respect for the minute. It was uncalled for and shouldn't have happened. But you paint with a broad brush again. Not all Republicans have a lack of respect for him. Disagreement does not equal a lack of respect. It is all in how it is handled and both sides at times have not handled it well.

I heard Obama was a bit confrontational but then he doesn't need the Republicans does he?

[jdb1]

If Congress simply sat and listened to a president's speech, and didn't do all that showmanship applauding at every other sentence, standing up, and other media-fueled nonsense, this ill-advised incident would not have happened. It bordered on the ridiculous.

I was very interested to hear the President speak -- he is a wonderful orator, no matter what the subject, and you hear so few good speeches any more. But all that posturing and play-acting by the audience of Senators and Representatives, and I mean both sides -- fooey. Something I'd expect from the Israeli Knesset, which is famous for its over the top reactions and brawling, but not from our guys.

[movieman1957]

Just think how much shorter they would be if they didn't applaud after every paragraph. (This is mainly for State of The Union speeches but applies as well here.)

[jdb1]

I think it's inappropriate for Congress to treat every televised speech occasion as though it were part of an election campaign. At this point, I want to see all those jokers getting down to business, not popping up from their seats every two minutes, hoping to get on camera.

Did you count how many women in the chamber were wearing bright red? Far too many, I thought. Couldn't Hillary have at least worn black slacks with that fire engine red jacket? I'm younger than she is, and I wouldn't wear bright red slacks if you paid me; and certainly not on television. Yipes. We're no Sarah Palin in the hips and rear department.